Waterdeep: Dragon Heist

About the adventure

Welcome to the infamously famous and famously infamous city of Waterdeep. A city where you can find anything for the right price, it is one of the most influental and important cities, not just in the north, but the entirety of Faerun. And it has recently come to light that, hidden somewhere deep below the city streets, there is an enormous cache of gold and magical items left behind by a disgraced politician. Now that this information is beginning to circulate, the various factions and guilds both in and around the City are turning their attention to this cache, with no doubt nefarious intentions in mind. And slap bang in the middle of all of this, is you. Will you help one of them claim the treasure, or will you attempt to claim it all for yourself? Dragon Heist is an incredibly dense adventure. Taking place entirely within the City of Waterdeep, there is no end to what you can do, people you can meet or trouble you can get into. In fact there is so much going on, you most likely won't see most of it unless you play through multiple times. Much of the adventure will see you forging uneasy alliances and political dealings with corrupt officials or shady black market dealers. And in stark contrast to most official DnD adventures, the stakes are fairly low, as no one is really out to kill anyone, at least not at first. It's a race to the treasure and as the sides begin to close in, the gloves will begin to come off. As a DM, I adore Dragon Heist for the simple reason it gives me a completely unique challenge every time I run it. The tools provided allow for a great deal of DM customization, without ruining the core of what makes the adventure so interesting to begin with. There is a nearly infinite amount of unique ways the adventure can go down, even by DnD standards, and I'm surprised by something new every time. I always prioritize the narrative and player character stories over all else at my table, and luckily Dragon Heist allows me to very easily do just that. The adventure is tailor made for throwing interesting and complex decisions at players to see what they do with them, building character all the while. I have an absolute blast every time I run this game at my table, and I can't wait to share it with you.

Additional Details

How to prepare

There are only four mandatory elements at my table, a Discord Account (And preferably installed onto your PC, though you are welcome to use the browser extension) as I run all of my games through there, a DnDBeyond account, a Mural account (I will discuss further in session 0) and a working Microphone. From there, I use Foundry Vtt to run all my combat encounters, which is free for players to use in Browser (Though I am currently experimenting with switching to TaleSpire). I am happy to use webcams as well, but I understand not every group is comfortable using them. This is something that can be discussed in session 0. While knowing the rules ahead of time will certainly make my job much easier, it is not essential, as one of the best ways to learn DnD is by doing.

What I provide

I design all of the maps we will use in game myself, either from scratch or based on the dungeon designs from the various DnD Adventure books. This way, I can ensure they are exactly what I want them to be every time. I also have access to all official content via DnDBeyond, which I will share with the group at the start of Session 0.

Gameplay details

Games at my table often include descriptions of graphic violence, swearing and other such adult themes. As part of every game I run, I ask my players to fill in an anonymous tabletop safety form, as well as facilitating a free session 0 to discuss the results from the form as well as discuss any further topics raised by the form or the players themselves. I also run a 'Red Card Rule' at my table, in that any participant can call 'Red Card' at any time for any reason, and everyone will step away to talk about whats occurred, sort out the best way we can move forward, and go from there. Finally, I am open to be contacted on my Discord both in and outside of scheduled games to answer any questions or problems you may have. Doily the DM Discord: DoilytheDM#5045

Content warnings

(none)

Safety tools used

Aftercare
Bleed
Breaks
Debriefing
Lines and Veils
Luxton Technique
Monte Cook RPG Consent Checklist
Open Door
Session 0

How will character creation work

This game will start at level 1 and go up to level 5 following the book as a guide. Waterdeep also has a direct sequel in the adventure 'Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage', which I am happy to run if there is enough interest. That adventure will take you from level 5 -20. Character creation will begin during and after session 0. This allows me to explain and confirm any homebrew rules we will use at the table, as well as give a more detailed idea of the setting and themes with everyone, before anyone begins making their characters. This also allows me to help anyone who needs it for character creation while I am there. I will then give everyone a week (or two as needed/discussed) to finalize their characters. Over this time, I will be available via my Discord for anyone who needs additional assistance/has backstory queries. Once everyone is happy and set, we'll dive in with Session 1!

Players can expect

• Find a game to join solo or search for a professional game master for you and your friends/coworkers/family.
• Book your session and wait for the Game Master to approve you.
• If you don't have a blast with your first game, your next game is on us.